Gate-operator.



A. C. CUNNINGHAM.

GATE OPERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25. 1914.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

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GATE OPERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 25| 19M.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

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ALONZO C. CUNNINGHAM, OF NORMA, TENNESSEE.

GATE-OPERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 19 16.

Application filed February 25, 1914. Serial No. 821,055.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALoNzo C. CUNNING- HAM, citizen of the United States residing at Norma, in the county of Scott and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gate-Operators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved and and simplified automatic or gravity gate.

It is the primary object of the invention to provide a gate which can be readily opened by persons in vehicles or on horseback without dismounting.

In the particular class of gates to which my invention belongs, the gate is opened by a movement which carries. the upper end of the rear post of the gate backward and in the direction in which the gate is to swing, thereby raising the front end of the gate to unlatch it and cause it to swing until it is wide open- A further object of the invention is to provide a gate of this class in which the operating lever will remain in any position in which it may be placed by the operator and locked against the influence of the gate which tends to return to its central or normal position.

v The above and additional objects are ac complished by such means as are illustrated in their preferred embodiment in the accompany drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part of this application.

In describing my invention in detail reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in whichz Figure 1 is a perspective view of the gate and operating: mechanism: therefor comprising the present invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation illustrating the manner in which the gate is hingedly supported; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device as illustrated in Fig. 2, the dotted lines inclicating the position of the movable parts during a gate opening operation; Fig. 1 is a front elevation, the gate being shown in section, of the operating mechanism in the position indicated in dotted lines in the said Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the device as illustrated in Fig. 41; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating in detail the manner in which the operating lever is supported.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals, 1 designates the gate, which may be of any ordinary construction and which is connected to the post 2 by means of a suitable hinge 3 connected to the lower part of the gate frame. provided with a suitable latch 4, which cooperates with a keeper 5 upon a post 6. The upper end of the rear standard or post 7 of the gate is pivoted as at 8 to an operating lever 9, which, for a purpose to be hereinafter fully described is fulcrumed as at 10 to the top of the post 2. The opening 11 through which the pivot pin 10 of the operating lever 9 extends converges centrally as indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawings, to provide, during an opening or closing operation, for the tilting of the said lever to either side.

A rod 12 depends from the free or opposite end of the lever 9 from that to which the gate post 7 is secured, the said rod being in turn connected through the medium ofsuitable rods 13 to levers 14 pivotally supported, one upon each side of the gate 1, and in such spaced relation thereto as to provide for the automatic locking of the said gate when swung widely open in either direction, the said levers 1 1 being conveniently supported by posts 15 carrying keepers 16, the latter being in the path of the latch .L for the purpose above noted.

Upon the top of the post 2 and rigid therewith is a horizontally flat plate mem ber 16, semicircular in form, and, as is clearly illustrated in the drawings, is provided upon its upper face and adjacent the curved edge or periphery thereof with serrations or shoulders 17, certain of which serve as a stop means for the lever 9 against move ment in one direction, while others, being oppositely disposed, serve as a stop means for the said lever in a reverse direction. Lateral extensions 18 are provided, one upon each side of the lever 9, the under face of each of the said extensions being beveled or cut at an inclination to efiect, during movement of the lever 9, a tilting thereof by reason of the said extensions riding over the upper inclined wall or face of the serrations 17 of the plate 16'.

The parts being positioned as indicated in Fig. 1, the operator first actuates the lever 14, which actuation, causes the rod 12 The front of the gate is to be pulled and the operating lever 9 to be slightly tilted and the rear post 7 of the gate to be moved or swung slightly out of its normal vertical plane or into the position illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. When thus tilted, the operating lever 9 may be swung upon its fulcrum 10 as the extension 18, by reason of the tilting aforesaid, is disengaged from the shoulder 17 against which it normally abuts and, as the gate by reason of its position with respect to the post 2, is free to open by gravity, but, as the distance between the pivot point 8 and the pivot point 10 is at all times the same, a sagging or drooping of the gate will not be apparent during an opening operation; When widely opened, the latch member 4 automatically engages the keeper 16 and maintains the said gate in such open position and against the'tendency to return to the position indicated in the said Fig. 1. The operator having passed through the gate, the other of the levers 14L is actuated causing the operating lever 9 to be reversely tilted and the gate, again by gravity, to return to its normal position or until the latch l engages the keeper 5.

. From the above, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings it will be noted thatas one of the lateral extensions 18 is raised out of engagement with the shoulders l7 of the plate, the other of the said extensions, as the lever 9 begins to move, rides upon the inclined face of the serrations 17 to in this-manner cause the latch 41: to be disengaged from the keeper-5; that the gate may be swung widely open by the operation of either lever 14, and, by a reverse operation of the said lever, may be promptly closed; and that further, by reason of the opening 11 through which the pivot pin 10 extends, the rear post 7 of the gate may be tilted to one side or moved out of its normal vertical plane, thereby causing the gates to be opened by gravity upon the disengagement of the extensions 18 and the abutments 17 of the plate.

v In reduction to practice, I have found that the form of my invention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description, as the preferred embodiment, is the most efficient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my device will necessarily vary,

I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Gate operating mechanism, including a retaining plate having pairs of oppositely disposed shoulders formed thereon, the said plate being further provided with a plurality of outwardly inclined surfaces extending respectively from the top of the inner pairs of shoulders to the base of the shoulders next adjacent thereto, an operating lever fixed to the plate and to the gate, and means movable with the lever to engage the shoulders for locking the gate either in open or closed position, the said inclined surfaces facilitating movement of the looking means in looking relation therewith.

2. Gate operating mechanism, including a retaining device having pairs of oppositely disposed shoulders formed thereon, the top surfaces of the said device being inclined from a point at the top of the innermost shoulder to a point at the bottom of the shoulder next adjacent thereto, a gate operating lever pivoted loosely to said device, a locking member mounted on said lever to engage with said shoulders and said inclined surface for the purpose specified, the end engaging face of the said locking member being similarly inclined, and a means to rock said lever and accordingly disengage said locking member from said shoulders to permit of subsequent swinging movement of said gate.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALONZO C. CUNNINGHAM.

Witnesses:

K. F. Brno, ELSIE Brno.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

